The mental health claim of Sam Billings PSL has become viral on social media, yet the England wicketkeeper-batter has strongly denied all these claims. The scandal began with a misreported tweet that made false claims against Billings in the midst of the ongoing PSL 11.
The viral post alleged that Billings had said that his mental health had been harmed by playing in the Pakistan Super League. It also contained an irrelevant and sensitive statement of dressing room behaviour concerning team mates that rapidly caused reaction on the Internet.
But Billings, now representing RawalPindiz in PSL 11, instantly intervened to defuse the situation. He furiously refuted the claims that he ever made these statements or being present at any media encounter where these statements were quoted.
“Absolute rubbish. I have not been involved in any media work, Billings explained, closing the misinformation that is going around on social media.
His reply was prompt and to the point and this helped minimise more misinformation. The explanation emphasized the ease with which unsubstantiated information can become viral in the current sports discourse, particularly when the affected players are still in a sports tournament such as the PSL.
After the backlash, the initial account that posted the misleading post made a public apology. The account acknowledged the mistake and explained the information was wrong and misstated.
This episode brings up again the fact that there is an increasing problem of false quotes and manufactured assertions in journalism about cricket on social media. Misinformation is usually targeted at players, particularly when the league is of high profile such as the PSL where the world is watching.
